Enterprise ERP systems remain one of the most overlooked attack surfaces in cybersecurity. In an interview with Channel Insider, newly appointed SecurityBridge CEO Jesper Zerlang said closing that SAP security gap will define the company’s next phase of growth as it accelerates global expansion and deepens channel partnerships.
Former board member turned executive charts early priorities
Zerlang was announced as the company’s CEO in January 2026. He transitioned from his role as chairman of the board, which he held in 2025, to take the top job from co-founder Christopher Nagy.
According to the company, Nagy and fellow co-founder Ivan Mans will remain “strategically central to the business in pivotal roles focused on product evangelism and high-impact, customer-driven initiatives, leveraging their SAP engineering depth, credibility, and long-term product vision.”
For Zerlang, who has decades of experience in cybersecurity, the opportunity to lead the company is a privilege and reflection of his understanding of where the company needs to go over the next few years.
“I know this company really well from a strategy perspective, so why not then step in to execute it,” Zerlang said.
“I had the feeling that I just wasn’t done yet and so I happily accepted the challenge and the opportunity from the board and founders to step into the role,” he continued.
Why SAP security is rising on the enterprise agenda
SecurityBridge offers enterprise customers a security platform for threat detection, vulnerability management, user monitoring, and compliance automation. The platform integrates fully with SAP to offer visibility into potential threats across the technology stack.
“We are born within SAP, many of us, and so we aren’t really this bolt-on to SAP environments so much as we’re a native expansion of what enterprises need right now,” said Zerlang.
To Zerlang, the real opportunity ahead for SecurityBridge is in bringing SAP-focused security conversations to enterprise leaders not already thinking about their needs.
“I think there is a profound gap of understanding the real threat that is already here today,” Zerlang said. “We can help get the security topic on the agenda at board and executive meetings, and that’s where we really help.”
“There are very few, if any, players who can do what we do,” he added. “You have to interest yourself in the business outcomes of your customers, not just the tech conversations.”
“I always ask, ‘well what would happen if you lost access to your ERP or your financial reporting,’ and I let them walk through that experience mentally, and they start to really see the issue at hand,” said Zerlang.
SecurityBridge’s global expansion strategy for 2026
Security broadly speaking remains a top priority for many, especially at the enterprise level, in 2026. Zerlang says most of that demand does not yet involve the importance of securing legacy environments built on systems like SAP’s vast portfolio of offerings.
“The diamonds, so to speak, of a company are often found in the application layer, so it’s a crucial area for most organizations,” Zerlang said.
SecurityBridge has not been quiet about its plans for international growth, but Zerlang’s appointment marks the evolution of its executive bench in pursuit of that mission.
Now, he will lead the company as it continues to grow in the US and scales into other regions as well, all operating based on the needs of each market.
“My strategy has always been to think global but act local,” Zerlang said, adding that regional teams will need to shape go-to-market strategy around the unique regulatory and business needs of each area.
Channel partnerships and MSSPs key to scaling SAP security
SecurityBridge already works largely with GSIs, including Accenture and PwC, but Zerlang said scaling that ecosystem is a crucial component of how the company plans to execute its growth strategy.
He told Channel Insider the company will continue to pursue deeper collaboration with integrators around the world, focusing certain relationships on specific regions or verticals.
Additionally, Zerlang said SecurityBridge plans to pursue strategic relationships with MSSPs and is building a multi-tentant version of its solution to address service provider needs this year.
“Without the channel I don’t think it would be possible to have global expansion in the way we want to, quite frankly,” Zerlang said.